Downtown office vacancies fall again

By the numbers: Downtown's office market is showing "further signs of stabilization," as office vacancy rates fell 0.3% in the second quarter to 36.5%, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE.

Context: Still, the downtown vacancy rate remains more than three times higher than it was before the pandemic, and remote work upended how and where Americans spend their time during the day.

• Downtown enjoyed a 10.4% office vacancy rate at the tail end of 2019.

Yes, but: Downtown still has one of the highest office vacancy rates of any of the Portland submarkets.

• Several parts of the metro area had rates in the single digits.

Between the lines: Among the drivers of the uptick in the second quarter were expansions and new leases at several notable buildings.

• Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon expanded its presence in the Black Box building next to the Keller Auditorium by more than 46,000 square feet, CBRE reported.

• And Perkins & Co. signed a new lease for nearly 31,000 square feet in the First & Main building.

What they're saying: First & Main's leasing director, Steve Center, told the Portland Business Journal that recent renovations have helped him fill empty offices faster.

The bottom line: Downtown still has a long way to go toward anything resembling a full recovery, but numbers are trending in the right direction, however modestly.